The number of American workers who belong to unions rose by 213,000 in 2005, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, halting at least temporarily an erosion that has been going on for decades. However, Minnesota bucked that trend, with a drop in the state's union membership.
"In a political climate that's hostile to workers' rights, these numbers illustrate the extraordinary will of workers to gain a voice on the job despite enormous obstacles," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said.
As union membership grew in 2005, so did the union advantage in wages: A typical union worker made $179 a week more than a nonunion worker, a gap that widened by $10.
The median weekly income of full-time union workers was $801 in 2005, BLS says, compared with $622 for nonunion workers. Median means half the workers make more, half make less.
That union advantage translates into more than $9,300 a year extra pay for union households. That's on top of a huge union advantage in workplace benefits such as health care and pensions.
The advantage of working union is even greater for female, African-American and Latino workers, whose pay levels traditionally trail white men. Union incomes are higher not only in general, but dramatically higher in specific job categories, too. From construction workers to janitors, workers doing the same work earn more when they work.
Construction workers earn $343 a week more if they're union. Police and firefighters earn an average of $328 a week more. Local government workers earn $225 a week more.
The union advantage is also real even in job categories where the pay difference does not seem so large. In food service, it's "only" $28 a week. But that's 7.5 percent higher ? which means 70 cents more an hour, or $1,456 extra a year. In health-care support, it's $61, which means $1.52 an hour more, or $3,172 a year.
Minnesota membership drops
Despite these advantages, only 12.5 percent of American workers belonged to a union in 2005, BLS says, the same as in 2004. Things look even worse when you exclude government jobs: Only 7.8 percent of private-sector workers belong to unions, essentially flat compared with the year before.
In Minnesota, the number of union members dropped by 32,000, according to BLS estimates. With 392,000 in their ranks, union members make up 15.7 percent of the state workforce, down from 17.5 percent in 2004, BLS says. The decline also dropped Minnesota out of the top 10 in the nation in its percentage of union workers. Minnesota dropped to 13th place, from 7th place in 2004.
Nationally, the share of union members has declined steadily from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year BLS compiled comparable statistics. Unofficial statistics show union workers made up one-third of the workforce in the 1950s.
Nearly 15.7 million workers belonged to unions in 2005, BLS says. An additional 1.5 million workers are covered by union contracts, but are not union members themselves.
The AFL-CIO's Sweeney, however, pointed to surveys that say 57 percent of American workers would belong to a union if they could ? nearly 5 times the current total. That discrepancy, he said, emphasizes the need for labor law reform through passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which has 208 co-sponsors in the House and 42 in the Senate, but has yet to receive a single hearing under Republican Congressional leadership.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@stpaulunions.org
For more information
View the entire BLS union membership report at www.bls.gov
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The number of American workers who belong to unions rose by 213,000 in 2005, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, halting at least temporarily an erosion that has been going on for decades. However, Minnesota bucked that trend, with a drop in the state’s union membership.
“In a political climate that’s hostile to workers’ rights, these numbers illustrate the extraordinary will of workers to gain a voice on the job despite enormous obstacles,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said.
As union membership grew in 2005, so did the union advantage in wages: A typical union worker made $179 a week more than a nonunion worker, a gap that widened by $10.
The median weekly income of full-time union workers was $801 in 2005, BLS says, compared with $622 for nonunion workers. Median means half the workers make more, half make less.
That union advantage translates into more than $9,300 a year extra pay for union households. That’s on top of a huge union advantage in workplace benefits such as health care and pensions.
The advantage of working union is even greater for female, African-American and Latino workers, whose pay levels traditionally trail white men. Union incomes are higher not only in general, but dramatically higher in specific job categories, too. From construction workers to janitors, workers doing the same work earn more when they work.
Construction workers earn $343 a week more if they’re union. Police and firefighters earn an average of $328 a week more. Local government workers earn $225 a week more.
The union advantage is also real even in job categories where the pay difference does not seem so large. In food service, it’s “only” $28 a week. But that’s 7.5 percent higher ? which means 70 cents more an hour, or $1,456 extra a year. In health-care support, it’s $61, which means $1.52 an hour more, or $3,172 a year.
Minnesota membership drops
Despite these advantages, only 12.5 percent of American workers belonged to a union in 2005, BLS says, the same as in 2004. Things look even worse when you exclude government jobs: Only 7.8 percent of private-sector workers belong to unions, essentially flat compared with the year before.
In Minnesota, the number of union members dropped by 32,000, according to BLS estimates. With 392,000 in their ranks, union members make up 15.7 percent of the state workforce, down from 17.5 percent in 2004, BLS says. The decline also dropped Minnesota out of the top 10 in the nation in its percentage of union workers. Minnesota dropped to 13th place, from 7th place in 2004.
Nationally, the share of union members has declined steadily from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year BLS compiled comparable statistics. Unofficial statistics show union workers made up one-third of the workforce in the 1950s.
Nearly 15.7 million workers belonged to unions in 2005, BLS says. An additional 1.5 million workers are covered by union contracts, but are not union members themselves.
The AFL-CIO’s Sweeney, however, pointed to surveys that say 57 percent of American workers would belong to a union if they could ? nearly 5 times the current total. That discrepancy, he said, emphasizes the need for labor law reform through passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which has 208 co-sponsors in the House and 42 in the Senate, but has yet to receive a single hearing under Republican Congressional leadership.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@stpaulunions.org
For more information
View the entire BLS union membership report at www.bls.gov